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Can one of the world's toughest bike races bring unity to Colombia?

Colombia's annual cycling tour, the Vuelta a Colombia, is considered one of the toughest races in cycling - with mountain passes hundreds of metres higher than the Tour de France.

It has been conquered predominantly by Colombians and captures the nation's imagination every year.

But it is more than a sporting event. In the early 1950s, two years into a bloody sectarian conflict between Liberals and Conservatives, the tour was initiated as a sign of peace and goodwill.

Today, a new generation of Colombians again face conflicting ideas. Some like Vita Osorio Sanmart铆n, whose father suffered a violent death linked to Pablo Escobar, hope that cycling can once more bring a sense of unity and nationhood to Colombia.

(Image: A cyclist on the Vuelta a Colombia Credit: 成人论坛)

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2 minutes